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Papers written by Curzon on the Near and Middle East [‎73v] (146/348)

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The record is made up of 1 file (174 folios). It was created in 16 Nov 1917-17 Jan 1924. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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however sensitive they were on the point, should risk a decision or endeavour to force
upon the Allies a scheme, of the wisdom of which they were not convinced.
From your Lordship's telegram I gathered that Mr. Robertson was being
summoned to Paris before the next meeting of the Ambassadors' Conference on
Friday, and in reply to the Ambassador, who admitted the force of my arguments
and pressed only for a rapid decision, I said that we would do our best, only I could
not promise to give instructions to your Lordship before that date.
His Excellency then turned the conversation to the East, and enquired whether
our own information bore out that, which had been received by the French Govern
ment, to the effect that at Constantinople there was a stiffening of the attitude of
the Turkish Government; the two parties, those in the capital and those from
Angora, having mutually agreed to stand out for better terms than those which had
been offered in London.
I said that our information, though not full, w r as much to the same effect, but
that personally I feared that the prospects of an agreement would be retarded, not
so much by anything done at Constantinople, as by the anticipated resumption of
hostilities between the Turks and the Greeks. There seemed to be no doubt that
the Greeks were going to resume the offensive, and although I thought myself that
from the larger point of view this was a mistaken policy, it could not be denied that,
in view of the large reinforcements which Mustapha Kemal was alleged to have
secured by his recent agreement with the French Government over Cilicia, their
attitude was an intelligible one and dictated by motives of self-preservation.
The Ambassador stated that his information agreed with ours, namely, that the
attack wms to begin to-day, and he then gave me his prognostication of the results
of such an occurrence.
Mustapha Kemal did not, he said, propose to fight the Greeks at Eski-shehr or
in that neighbourhood. They would thus gain a bloodless victory at the start. He
would retire to Angora, mass his forces there, and w T ould then harass the Greeks by
guerilla warfare. In this way the conflict would be protracted for months with
consequences for the prospects of a settlement which could not but be deplored.
From Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. it was an easy transition to Syria, and the Comte de Saint-Aulaire
roceeded once more to give me, with great fulness and no small emphasis, the
rench view of the situation that would be created by the reappearance of the Emir
Feisal in Eastern parts. He told me that the British consul at Damascus had been
saying some foolish things about the desirability of the French making terms with
Abdullah and setting him up as King in Syria, and that the rumour was widely
believed that the British Government were about to make Feisal King of Mesopo
tamia, Abdullah Emir of Transjordania and the other brother, Ali, Emir of Abu
Kemal.
As regards Abdullah, I remarked that it was quite true that this son of King
Hussein was, and had for some time been, in Transjordania, but he had gone there,
not at our instigation, nor with our knowledge, and the whole of our efforts had
been devoted since his arrival to preventing him from indulging in intrigue or
hostility against the French across the Syrian border, an object for which it was
more than likely that he had entered the country. We had brought the strongest
pressure to bear upon King Hussein through Feisal to suspend any such activities,
and it was entirely due to our influence and loyalty to the French that thev had
not assumed a more serious form.
As to the future, I had no means of knowing whether Abdullah wanted or would
consent to be Emir in Transjordania, or what were his ambitions. As he was upon
the spot it might be difficult to get rid of him. and if the people of Transjordania
wanted him, I could see no reason why they should not have him.
As to Ali and Abu Kemal, this was the first that I had heard of such a project,
and I had not seen his name mentioned in that connection. The plan of setting up
a separate emirate in the. north under him was one which had not originated with us
and of which I now heard for the first time.
The Ambassador might rest assured that we knew nothing about it
His Excellency then reiterated the familiar French arguments against the
adoption of Feisal by the British. He said that not only had he been a^traitor to
the French, but he had also been a traitor to us. In his conversation with General
Gouraud he had offered to side with the French against the British and in return
to give the former the complete exploitation of the oil wells of Mosul
Sir Eyre Crowe had suggested that there might have been a rc
owing to the inability of General Gouraud to understand Arabic, but
isunderstanding
this explanation

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Content

The file contains correspondence, memoranda, maps, and notes on various subjects connected to the Near and Middle East. The majority of the papers are written by George Curzon himself and concern the settlement of former territories of the Ottoman Empire following its break up after the First World War. Matters such as the Greek occupation of Smyrna, the division of Thrace, the Greco-Turkish War, Georgian independence, and the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne are all discussed.

Other matters covered by the file include those concerning the Arab territories of the former Ottoman Empire, American advisers in Persia, and the future of Palestine, including a report by the Committee on Palestine (Colonial Office) dated 27 July 1923 (folios 168-171).

Correspondence within the file is mostly between Curzon and representatives of the other Allied Powers, as well as officials from other governmental departments and diplomatic offices.

Extent and format
1 file (174 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged in chronological order from the front to the back.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 174; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Papers written by Curzon on the Near and Middle East [‎73v] (146/348), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/278, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076917035.0x000093> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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